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Leafs lose opener to Sabres Justin Dahan (HV) It’s preseason time! Time for the desperate hockey fan to catch their first glimpse of their favorite team before the real season begins. Such was the case for the 18851 people who purchased tickets for the Toronto Maple Leafs first preseason game against the Buffalo Sabres.
The Sabres took to the ice in their new uniforms, the colors blue and gold. The uniform also depicted a buffalo on the front crest. The Leafs took their ice in their usual jerseys with the everlasting Maple Leafs logo.
The Sabres devastated the Leafs on the power play. The quick skating Sabres were able to score four power play goals on the Leafs. The first of which came in the second period when Jiri Novotny one timed a cross crease pass from Thomas Vanek passed Andrew Raycroft. Brian Campbell also added an assist. The second goal was scored in much the same fashion, Derek Roy took a nice feed from Adam Mair and beat Raycroft. Youngster Michael Ryan picked up an assist on that play from his hard work in the corners. Dan Paille picked up a goal when he banged in Dimitri Kalinin’s rebound on a five on three advantage. The final goal was a beauty. Michael Ryan out waited Andrew Raycroft and when Raycroft went down shelved it into the top corner from the bottom of the circle. Martin Biron picked up the shutout for the Sabres, as they won 4-0.
The Leafs may have gotten beat but they can take solace in the fact that Andrew Raycroft played a solid game (His first in the blue and white) stopping 28 shots, many of them good scoring chances. He had solid positioning and looked very comfortable in the net, he showcased a good glove hand. Perhaps he has returned to his rookie form. Hal Gill and Pavel Kubina also made their debuts for the Leafs, neither played poorly but neither had done anything spectacular.
The Sabres had many positives. Their power play was spectacular, their speed looked great, and their puck control was incredible. They also seem to have a key young player in Michael Ryan who was the best player on the ice, and collected two points (1goal, 1assist)
On the injury front Dimitri Kalinin took a stick to the face in a scrum, and had to leave to the dressing room. He returned in the second after receiving some repairs. Daniel Briere also left the game and did not return but his condition is listed as stable. Darcy Tucker was cut open from the left hand of Mark Mancari in a fight and returned to play.
Martin Biron diverted attention away from his shutout and spoke very kindly about the team. Saying that the Sabres have a lot of depth and everyone had a great game and played very well.
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